Profile information
Host rating
80 %
Feedback
3
Email verified
Badges (1)
Details
Description
It's been wonderful hosting people and being workawayers ourselves. It's a great way to feel instant connection to a community.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Anna is a human rights lawyer and I'm a filmmaker. We are both in our early forties with shared backgrounds in theatre, food, and nature. We are passionate about social justice and volunteer at several community organizations.
I've lived in Chicago for the past fifteen years so I'd be happy to share some special places around town.
I have memberships and free admission to the Art Institute, Modern Art, Science and History museum, the Planetarium and the Aquarium. I also get free tickets to theatre from volunteering and work.
We always want to work along side our workaways and share meals and trips with them. We’ve great memories with our workaways, singing karaoke and having hot pot, exploring the beaches and different neighborhoods on bike, attending street festivals and concerts. Music! So much good live music and a lot of it is free. We have several friends in bands and would love to take you to their shows. There is so much to do in the city! After working on the house and garden, we hope to find time to share a meal and on weekends have you join our plans or discover your interests.
Help
Anna and I are fixing up our home near downtown Chicago and have planted and take care of an ever expanding garden/orchard in an adjacent acre of empty city land.
There is always something to do to around the building. Workaways have helped us pour concrete sidewalks and patios, install electricity, setup our basement, paint, clean, install cabinets and counters. Our dear friends have many of these skills and guide us so prior experience is not necessary.
We’ve planted roughly an acre of various types of gardens, shady woodland, sunny perennial and bulb beds, prairie grass and wildflower pollinators, vegetable gardens, fruit orchards, mushroom plots. We planted with sustainable permaculture concepts: biodynamic soils, bioaccumulators, worm tea, leaf mold, rain barrels, slough planting, companion planting, microbes! Workaways have helped us dig in and build hugelmounds, turn and feed compost, burn biochar, plant and mulch. Because of the permaculture techniques we only water once or twice a season and only occasionally weed allowing us to spend more time expanding the gardens. We also work with our neighbors to landscape the neighborhood median in front of their homes.
We are trained in caring for trees with the City of Chicago’s Treekeeper program. You are welcome to join us in our continuous trainings or at our citywide treeplantings/pruning’s as part of your hours. You are also welcome to join me and hunt for mushrooms and hike and forage for wild food, pick fruits, berries, nuts, et in season as part of your hours.
Anna works full time and works on the house/gardens on the weekend. I'm freelance with a varying schedule. We are looking for individuals who are capable and can work alone at times. If we are not at work we are absolutely working with you and sharing your company.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: FluentThis host offers a language exchange
This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
You can contact them directly for more information.
Accommodation
You'll have your own bedroom and a full sized bed that works well for couples. You'll share the rest of the apartment with me and my housemate, Anna. There's a large combined kitchen and living room, a library and two bathrooms. Linens, amazing shower pressure, fast reliable internet. We work early so we are quiet by ten pm and usually at work by nine am.
We enjoy cooking and happily provide and share all meals (thai, vietnamese, italian, American). I'm thai and vegetarian and Anna is from the states and occasionally(maybe twice a month) cooks a meat dish. There will always be dessert! We can accommodate dietary restrictions, for instance I will make a non-spicy pad thai or a cheese free pesto if you cant handle spice or are lactose intolerant. If you do not want what we are having, there are plenty of groceries and garden produce and we can take you to stores for you to purchase whatever you’d like. Please thoroughly clean up after yourselves.
What else ...
Chicago is an amazing city. The train stop is only two blocks from the house and takes only ten minutes to get downtown or an hour to the airport.
We are located in an up and coming neighborhood. A lot of the building were abandoned when everyone fled the inner cities in the eighties. The average income of our neighbors is below median. To some, it might appear run down and dangerous but our neighbours are wonderful and chatty and often sit on their porches watching over everyone. Kids play up and down the street and occasionally stop to dig holes and plant and taste things. All the old ladies will ask to pick the tomatoes while they are still green. It is a poor neighborhood but a great community.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
